A Series of Hiccstrid Oneshots
by Clawsh
Summary: As the title says. Some may occur after HTTYD2 so I will let you guys know beforehand for those who haven't seen it yet. Hope you guys like them and I do take requests!
1. Chapter 1

**Already Home**

This is after HTTYD2.

**_Summary:_**Hiccup gets badly injured in a dragon racing incident when his tail malfunctions. He's been in a coma for a few days and a lot of people are beginning to doubt that he'll ever wake up.

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His body lay beaten and broken on the bed as he laid there. His breathing was steady, but that was all that kept some people's hopes up. Hiccup's body was bruised all over and he had cuts and burns from the building he ran into that was on fire. He attempted to put it out with the fire prevention system, but the tail had caught on fire somehow and burnt it too badly and he couldn't escape. The crowd witnessed the boy and the Night Fury crash down into the building and then after what seemed like agonizing seconds, the building collapsed right on top of them, still in blazes. It was a miracle to see that the boy hadn't died in the hands of the fire right there. "Must have been the Night Fury." A lot of people suspected to have saved him not once, not twice, but now three times for a devastating incident.

Now, the boy lay in the bed where he had been resting for a few days now. He hadn't moved one bit, the only sign of life was the steady breathing pattern. Toothless, every now and then would sit up and stare at the boy, waiting to see his owners' body move but nothing. Toothless rested his head on the bed side and stared at Hiccup, with his green-yellow catlike eyes. He sensed someone approached and looked up towards the door, but a familiar presence eased him.

Astrid Hofferson slowly opened the door and walked inside, looking at Toothless then back at Hiccup. Her face, which was once filled with a bit of hope, now seemed to sulk back as she took note of Hiccup, unmoving. "Hey." She said soft and quietly, towards Hiccup. She walked over next to Toothless and began scratching and petting him. "He hasn't moved yet, huh?" She said as she looked at Toothless with a long face. Feeling the troubled and saddened vibe Astrid was giving off, Toothless put his head and rested it under Astrid's chin as he used to do with Hiccup. Toothless gurgled something and Astrid sighed. He then pulled his head back and moved towards the corner of the room where his bed was and lit the stone he laid on, on fire and rested in the embers.

Astrid knelt down next to Hiccup's bedside. She saw the glass of water on his nightstand, still the same amount of fluid that was left there the day before. She grabbed Hiccup's hand in hers and kissed the back of it. She then rested the side of her head on his bed and stared up at him, hoping to see him move; a twitch a flinch, anything. But she got nothing. "You know Hiccup, people are starting to doubt you'll ever wake up from this. But me? No. I know you will." She lifted her heard up off the bed and began playing with Hiccup's fingers with both of her hands. "It was quite a blow you took into that building, but you were only trying to protect people because that's what a chief does." She looked back up at Hiccup, with a sense of hope he'd have a side goofy side smile, but still, nothing. "And you know," she said, "You've been through worst and you came out of it like nothing ever happened. You're going to wake up, I know it. I don't care if anyone else is doubting you, because I'm not. Just .. Just come back when you're ready .. alright?" She said, her voice wavering.

She felt the sting of tears that she tried holding back so much. She hated this. She missed his stupid remarks and comebacks that'd he tell her and the laughs they shared. Thinking about what it used to be hurt and a pang of doubt started to overcome her along with fear. The instantly, she felt ashamed in herself. How could she think that? Of course Hiccup was going to be alright. He always is. No matter how hard she tried, the salty tears came flowing like a river. The dropped onto the bed sheet and some fell onto her hand and Hiccup's hands that were intertwined. She wiped her eyes a few times and the tears finally stopped coming.

She sniffled and rested her cheek back against the side of the bed again and stared back up at Hiccup. For a splint second, she could've sworn he moved. "Hiccup?!" She gasped, not too loudly. But no response. It was the same old steady breathing pattern he had kept for days on end. She sighed, full of despair and sadness.

She leaned her forehead and pressed it against the couples' hands and closed her eyes. She just wanted to make sure he was close by. After a minute or so, she opened her eyes again. She felt the heat of the sun on the back of her head, although it was still pretty cold. After a little while longer she finally let go of his hand and turned around so she began facing the door where she had came from. Her back leaned against his bed side.

She put her hand under his bed and pulled out the Book of Dragons. She secretly hated this book just because it was always a "Fishlegs and Hiccup" kind of thing. She was jealous, but she didn't want to admit it. Although, something inside of her knew that Hiccup could already sense the jealousy and a bit of hatred welling up inside of her every time Fishlegs and Hiccup got all "geeky" about the book. She signed and opened the book. She flipped through each class and read it to herself. She studied every word, every drawing; all the pieces of knowledge each page had to offer her. She brushed her palm against some of the drawings and writings and realized that it was all basically Hiccup's work, all of his hard work all sketched out onto these pieces of paper. She sighed, although the sigh she let out was really shaky. Tears were about to start coming, but she wouldn't let it happen. But it did.

One tear came rolling down her cheek and landed on a piece of handwriting. She gasped at what happened and quickly wiped away the tears that stopped coming. She bit her lip and furrowed her brow. The one tear that had trickled down her cheek and landed on the page began to smear the writing. It was still legible but it looked ruined to her. This was all of Hiccup's hard work and who knows if Hiccup is going to be able to even continue this?! Panic starting rising up in her and so did sadness. She ruined one of Hiccup's things, and of course of all things, it had to be the Book of Dragons. She placed the book away from her and stared at it. The tears began rolling down her cheeks and she started quietly sobbing to herself.

Toothless, realizing how sad Astrid was came over and laid next to her, placing his head on her legs to not get harmed by the spikes on her skirt, and closed his eyes as to comfort her. Her body rocked as the sobs shook her and the tears rolled down from her cheeks onto the floorboards, onto Toothless' head, and onto her skirt. She laid there sobbing, thinking back to when she and Hiccup weren't even considered friends. How horrible she had treated him. Sure she never did anything as bad as the others, but that still didn't mean she wasn't harsh on him. _He's never where he should be_, she remembered herself saying about Hiccup as he walked into the Mead Hall to eat. She remembered running away from him when he was asking about reading the Book of Dragons together. She remembered being utterly disgusted by him when she first saw Toothless. She remembered envying him when he was beating her in the arena with the tricks he learned from Toothless. She remembered it all and she felt ashamed and disgusted with herself.

"Why. Why did I do all of that? I'll never be able to take it back." She said quietly to herself through her silent cries. Just then, she was interrupted by something. She turned around expecting someone to have just been walking in on her and her face was red from the idea of someone seeing her cry. When she turned, nothing stirred and nothing seemed out of place. She looked at Hiccup in hope something happened, but nothing, or as she thought. She looked at his arm. Did it move? She looked at it questioningly and Toothless followed her gaze. He looked at her and then back at Hiccup's arms. They both waited in silence, tears still slowly falling from Astrid's eyes, but they began to dry up. Nothing.

She closed her eyes and settled back down, feeling the last of the tears come out. It felt like she couldn't cry anymore after that. She breathed heavily and Toothless laid down beside her, this time his head next to her on the floor. She noticed his tail resting across from his body and studied it. She looked at where the makeshift wing used to be and noticed that Toothless' scales were slightly burnt. It was hard to tell since it was a little dark in the room and his scales were already a midnight blue color. She felt sorry for him, she felt like she had to do something for him. Toothless did all he could to protect Hiccup, and he suffered the cost, and yet that still wasn't enough to full save him.

She sighed and looked down at her hands in her lap. She decided that maybe she'd try to take up black smithing and learn from Gobber and surprise Hiccup and Toothless with her new inventions too. She smiled at the idea but silently and quickly laughed it off. "Who am I kidding? I'm no inventor. I'm not like ... Hiccup." She said the last part so quietly, almost too scared to say his name. "Hm?" She heard someone say behind her, but it was unmistakable where that would've come from.

Surprised and slightly embarrassed she turned to face Hiccup, who was slowly opening his eyes, with the sunlight shining right into his face. "Hiccup?!" She said in a whispered yell. Hiccup groaned still trying to take in his surroundings. He sat up and squinted his eyes around his room.

Hiccup groaned in pain as he sat up and put an arm on the side of his stomach. "Ouch." He hissed quietly as he sat up. He pulled off the covers and lifted up part of his shirt to see that there was a huge scorch mark along with a huge slowly healing gash. He looked at it in disbelief. It was a monstrous wound that would definitely leave a scar. Toothless noticed the pain his owner was in and how slowly he was moving so he walked over to the other side of the bed opposite of Astrid and put his head on the bedside and gurgled something and tried to do a little toothless smile. "I'm okay buddy." He said as he pet his dragon.

Astrid had tears pouring down her face this time from happiness and she covered her mouth with her hands and tried to hide the tears. Hiccup turned to her with a smile, "What did I miss?" He said. Astrid didn't say anything. She leaned her face in and pulled Hiccup's face the rest of the way to meet hers for a long kiss. "You don't have to cry. I'm right here. I've always been." He said with a smile, as their foreheads touched. "I know it and I knew it." She said and she closed her eyes, and smiled face angled downwards as their foreheads leaned on each other. Her hands caressed his neck and her fingers played with some of his hair. One of Hiccup's hands were on the bed for support while another was playing with Astrid's neatly braided blonde hair that rested on her shoulder. He smiled at her. Just the way I last saw her, he thought to himself.

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**Hope you guys liked it ~ I'll be making more and more soon, just looking for ideas. I want to do something to show the kiddish/playful kind of side of their relationship like in the second movie (:**

**I also take requests btw!**


	2. Chapter 2

**I Fell In Love The Moment We Kissed**

**After HTTYD 1 but before HTTYD 2 / Around the time of **

**Summary: **Hiccup had enough of Astrid and Snotlout fighting so he forced them to work and spend more time together, so they did. They got a lot closer, a little too close for Hiccup's liking and he starts to become jealous of Snotlout and Astrid's new found friendship even though Astrid and Snotlout are just good friends.

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**I'll be using your guys' ideas soon and I'll be giving credits ~**

**I just really liked the idea of this and wanted to do this one first before I forget about it (:**

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Hiccup was frustrated. This was the fourth time that Astrid and Snotlout had been arguing and it was just getting worse. "Stop getting in my way!" Astrid yelled at Snotlout who had collected stones, as per Stoick's request, and had placed them in the middle of everything causing Astrid to trip over them and fall on the ground, hurting her wrist in the process of trying to catch herself. She slowly stood up checked herself over, moving her wrist to see if it were hurt too bad.

"In_ your_ way?! Why don't you just watch out for my stones!" Snotlout fired back, placing a few more stones done in the pile where Astrid had tripped. When Snotlout got close to her, Astrid grabbed his wrist and twisted it and flipped him onto the ground, much like she did to Hiccup before when she first encountered Toothless. "Ow!" Snoutlout yelled, "That hurt!" Snotlout stood up and checked his own wrist.

"Good!" She yelled back. Her wrist was hurting, but she wouldn't let up. I'm not weak, she told herself in her head. Overhearing the yelling, the rest of the riders stopped to watch the two, the twins obviously more entertained than the others.

Fishlegs, looking a little worried spoke up. "Can you guys stop?!" He yelled at them, a little more loudly than he should've, causing him to feel embarrassed with all the faces turned towards him.

"No! Keep going. Punch him Astrid!" Tuffnut cheered on. In response, Astrid rolled her eyes and turned towards Stormfly. She was done dealing with them today.

Hiccup who heard the yelling from nearby appeared through the brush. He groaned and the sight since he had already known that something happened with Snotlout and Astrid .. again. "What did you guys do NOW?" Hiccup asked exasperated.

"She hurt my wrist!" Snotlout yelled at Hiccup and tried to play the victim in here. "All because she was being clumsy and fell!"

"That's not true!" Astrid yelled back at Snotlout and walked towards Hiccup. "_He_," she gestured at Snotlout with her hurt wrist, "put his rocks in the middle of everything and caused me to trip over them because of how _stupidly_ they were placed." This caused the two of them to start arguing yet again and making Hiccup even more and more stressed out. He sighed.

"OKAY!" He yelled, "Would you guys shut up!?" He said in a booming voice. Everyone quieted and looked at him. You could tell he just wasn't in the mood. "Snotlout you shouldn't have placed your rocks in the middle of everything because that's how accidents happen." Hiccup said trying to reason with him but before Hiccup could say anything to Astrid, Snotlout interrupted.

"There you go again! Picking her side! I'm the victim here! Not your stupid little girlfriend!" He yelled back at Hiccup, who in turn wasn't having it.

"For Odin's sake she's not my girlfriend!" Hiccup yelled at him and right after Astrid joined in.

"_I'm_ stupid!?" She said fiercely, looking like she was about to tear off Snotlout's head.

"I-I can't take this anymore!" Fishlegs yelled at them, obviously getting irritated as well. The twins, noticing everyone was yelling joined in.

"Yeah! We can't take it either!" They yelled.

Hiccup was getting a headache and he was about ready to lose it. "You guys! CAN YOU ALL BE QUIET?!" He tried yelling as loud as he could but the others' yells covered his. Toothless, noticing Hiccup's frustration stepped in to help and Toothless roared as loud as he could. It was deafening to everyone and it echoed for a few seconds, even after everyone finally quieted down and turned their attention towards the Night Fury and Hiccup. "Thanks bud." He said as he scratched his dragons head who gurgled in return.

"Okay, I'm sick of all of this. You guys are out of control. You need to learn to work together WITHOUT the screaming and yelling and fighting and injuries. If I can't count on you guys to get along here by just simply stacking rocks, what makes you think I can confidently count on you guys out there when we have to fight against Alvin or Dagur and his armada or anyone else for that matter?"

"Hiccup .. " Astrid began quietly but was cut off by Hiccup.

"No." He said tensely, not looking at her. "I want Snotlout and Astrid to spend the day together. You guys need to start appreciating each other more. I can't deal with this constant bickering everyday. Just you and Snotlout, no one else, just the two of you. No Hookfang and no Stormfly." Hiccup looked up to face everyone, who either had terrified or desperate looks on their faces. "And I want you back at the academy tomorrow. Alive." After a short pause to let his demand sink in, Hiccup said, "Let's take what we have so far back to the academy and we'll call it a day." Everyone agreed in silence and they took their rock load back to the academy where they placed it in a barrel.

After that, Hiccup put Stormfly and Hookfang into their pens in the academy. "Remember, no dragons." As he lowered the stone to close the gate. "Well, I guess we can call it a day. Hope you guys have fun together." He said with a sarcastic tone and a sarcastic smile to follow. With that, he and Toothless flew out of the arena and Fishlegs and the twins followed him out, leaving Astrid and Snotlout alone.

Astrid looked disgusted and terrified at the same time. She didn't know what was worst; Hiccup being absolutely annoyed and mad at her or having to spend the day with Snotlout. Astrid sighed. "I don't care what Hiccup said, I'm getting my dragon." Snotlout said as he marched on over to the gate to open up the pens.

"No! Hiccup said no!" Astrid yelled at him and went to go and stop him.

"Who cares what he said?" Snotlout said and tried to get to the lever but Astrid blocked his path.

"I do, and he's going to be your future chief so you better get used to caring." She said coldly, giving him a deadly stare. Snotlout, realizing he was crossing a deadly line backed off.

"Fine." he growled and started walking away.

"Where are you going?" She yelled back at him.

"Anywhere but here." He called back at her as he reached halfway across the arena.

"We have to stay together!" She yelled at him as she ran to catch up. Her anger was boiling inside of her and her frustration was starting to near an all time high. "Is it really that hard for you to listen?!"

"Well what are we supposed to do!?" he shot back at her, obviously full of frustration as well. "I hate this as much as you do." He said as he turned away and started for the arena gates.

"Let's just .. I don't know! Let's just practice melee combat alright?" She said in desperation. She didn't want to spend time with Snotlout, but she didn't want to let Hiccup down, not right now especially. He had enough of her already.

Snotlout turned around. This actually got his attention. He hadn't known the last time he actually had time to practice melee combat since the whole dragon thing changed Berk. He never really had a need for it. "Okay, fine. I get the hammer." He said as he walked over to the weapon rack and pulled out his hammer he always chose. Astrid grabbed her trust axe that was sitting near Stormfly's pen. "You ready?" Astrid said as she turned around.

"Let's do it." Snotlout replied and the two began fighting in the arena.

Between thrusts and clashes of weapons, the two sparked conversation. They talked about whatever came to their minds; their parents, their dragons, etc. They weren't so focused on the conversation either so it just made it easier to reply. "If anything happened to Hiccup, I'd get Toothless." Snotlout said during one of the conversations.

"What? No way, I would. I've already ridden on him and he already likes me." She shot back as she dodged a blow from Snotlout's hammer and slashed with her axe, only for her hit to be blocked and defected back.

"I'm his cousin. It's only right. Family first." He said as the two continued their fighting.

Astrid stepped back and took a stance, long enough for her to roll her eyes. "You wish. It's not like Toothless would let you ride him anyways." She shot back as she tumbled to the right to dodge a powerful smash from Snotlout.

"He would too!" Snotlout yelled as he jumped back and fixed his stance and braced for an attack.

Astrid aimed her axe and threw it at Snotlout who blocked it and threw his hammer at Astrid, who also blocked it. One good thing about this training was that each other knew how to fight so they could always count on each other to dodge their hits. She was about to bring up the whole flight Hiccup took her on with Toothless the night before his final exam with the Monstrous Nightmare who was now Snotlout's dragon Hookfang but realized it was a secret. No one else knew and no one else needed to know.

The sun was just about setting when the two finished their training. "It's a beautiful sunset. A beautiful sunset that's pretty romantic don't you think?" Snotlout said with a smirk. Astrid, who still didn't enjoy the come-on's pushed him aside and walked past him. "Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow." She said and left the arena.

The next morning, Hiccup was late yet again. He made it to the arena, 5 minutes late. He was anxious to hear the results of Astrid and Snotlout's bonding experience and what he got was a surprise. He saw the two laughing and talking. It literally stunned everyone. Happy with the results, Hiccup walked to the two with a smile on his face and his arms spread out. "So? How'd it go?" Hiccup said anxiously.

"I have to tell ya Hiccup, you were right. It worked." Astrid said, looking at Hiccup with a smile, glad to see he wasn't mad at her anymore.

Snotlout quickly changed his expression to a bored look, "Psh, yeah it was alright." He said trying to sound like it wasn't that big of a deal. Astrid rolled her eyes at him and Hiccup studied the two's interactions.

"Let's get on with today." Hiccup said. "My dad wants us to finish up the rocks. He said it's not enough and we'll need triple the amount we have." The gang headed out to collect the rocks.

Work was going very well. In fact, no one was even arguing at all. Everyone was getting along, even the twins weren't fighting each other. It seemed as though everything seemed right. He took note that he was hearing Astrid laugh all the time though, every time Snotlout would reply. It didn't bother him that much, in fact it probably wouldn't have bothered him if Fishlegs didn't say anything. "Hey Hiccup, I think Astrid and Snotlout are a little too close now, don't you think?" Fishlegs said as he picked up a rock off the ground to toss in the pile.

"What do you mean Fishlegs? They're doing fine." Hiccup replied. He was semi-annoyed, not by Astrid's continuous laughs but by Fishlegs want to keep pushing the questions.

"Well .. if you say so." Fishlegs said and at that moment, Hiccup and Fishlegs both turned to look to see and hear Astrid and Snotlout laughing together, yet again. Now, something was starting to bother Hiccup.

"It's fine." Hiccup said, reassuringly to Fishlegs, although it was more for himself. But by the end of the day, Hiccup had, had it. He didn't like it one bit anymore and there was a part of him that would prefer them arguing and screaming at each other instead of laughing with each other. "Alright you guys, let's head back to the arena." Hiccup said and they tied up the rocks and had the dragons each help carry a side of it to bring it in.

Once the rocks were put away and dealt with, Hiccup called the day over. The other riders , except Astrid, all left leaving Hiccup and her in the arena. He was just about to mount Toothless when Astrid walked up to him. "Hey." She said with a smile.

"Hey." He replied back flatly.

"Uh .. " Astrid started, feeling the awkwardness rise as she noted the tone of his voice and his demeanor. "Do you want to go for a ride around Berk?" She asked hopeful. It had been awhile since the two were able to hang out with just themselves and their dragons. She always liked it when it was just them, not that she minded having anyone else with them, but it just felt better when it was with just him and Toothless.

"Can't. I have to go .. talk to my dad." Hiccup added quickly as he tried to find an excuse. "Why not go with Snotlout?" He said, a little more harshly than he meant and he flew out of the arena in a blink of an eye, leaving Astrid speechless and confused. She knew better than to listen to Hiccup say that he was going to talk to his dad. What she didn't know was where would Hiccup go? The cove was too obvious, the other islands were too far to fly to for both of them this late. Maybe the cliff, she thought as she mounted Stormfly. It was time she and Hiccup talked.

Hiccup landed on the ground and dismounted Toothless. Toothless lit a spot with his flame and laid down and curled in it. Hiccup sat down near Toothless and rested his back against him. "Why does it bother me so much?" He asked his dragon who only eyed him. Toothless and Hiccup both knew why, but Hiccup just wasn't in the mood to admit it. Toothless had seen it the night of Astrid's first flight with them; he had sensed it. Toothless grunted in reply, which only received a sarcastic humorous remark back. "I am not in denial." Hiccup shot back at the dragon's body language. He had already known from the start how Toothless would react but he still felt a need to express it.

Astrid, who had been hiding near the trees with Stormfly, who both had been undetected from the boy and the Night Fury slowly emerged from the forest that gradually died away as the end of the cliff was met. "In denial about what?" Astrid asked as she appeared through the forest, startling the boy who had shot straight up at the sound of the voice. Toothless looked in her direction with lightning fast reactions, but knowing there was no threat, looked back at the sea where the sun was setting.

"Uh n-n-nothing." Hiccup answered back, his face flushed with embarrassment.

"If it's nothing, then why do you feel the need you can't tell me?" She pressed on as she stepped closer to where Hiccup stood.

"It's just that .. " Hiccup trailed off and sighed. He scratched the back of his neck wondering how to say it.

"It's just what?" Astrid said softly and warmly as she walked over to Hiccup's side.

"It's just .. " He trailed off again, and turned away. "It's just that you and Snotlout were getting along so well today."

"Didn't you want us to? Wasn't that the whole point of yesterday?" She said, slightly confused. She tried looking at Hiccup but he turned away.

"Yeah, but .. " He trailed off again looking for words.

"But .. " She pressed him on trying to get whatever she could out of him. This was one of the only ways she could get him to talk when he was holding back.

"But you guys were getting along really well. Like, really well."

"Hiccup, is that it?" Astrid asked and put a hand on Hiccup's shoulder to get him to turn around and face her, which he did.

".. Yes." He said boldly and look to the ground, not being able to hold Astrid's gaze for long.

"You know, I only did it because you told me to. You told me to hang out with Snotlout and I did. You were mad and annoyed that day, and I just didn't want it to bother you anymore." Astrid said warmly, trying to get Hiccup to look at her.

Hiccup looked up a little astonished. "I know but .. but I didn't think you guys would get along so well." He said quietly. A little frustrated that Hiccup was mad over this, Astrid rolled her eyes and sighed. She leaned over and pulled Hiccup's face to hers and kissed him.

"Wha-What was that for?" Hiccup asked a little surprised when they released. He attempted to hide his smile, but it was hard and Astrid saw right through it. Toothless, noticing the interaction walked over to Hiccup and nudged him closer to Astrid while he gurgled something. "Toothless, stop." He said trying to push his dragon back. Hiccup and Astrid were only inches away from each other, but neither one stepped back.

"That was for being you, and not Snotlout." Astrid said. Then she punched him on his arm, "And that's for getting mad at me." She said.

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**Okay now I'll work on the other ones c:!**


	3. Chapter 3

**I'll Stay**

_"Write one of when hiccup first saw her at age five and began his crush!" - Midnight' Dragon Conqueror _

**Summary:** Being the kids they were, Hiccup, Astrid, Snotlout, Fishlegs, and the Twins back when they were around the age of 5 decided to all go exploring. The kids always heard tales to not go into the forest because an evil ghost axeman would kill them if they dared to enter. It was Snotlout's idea to explore the forest which they were forbidden to enter, but being the curious kids they were, they did. Hiccup and Fishlegs were against the idea, but not wanting to be left out, followed the gang. Astrid also was against it but not wanting to be made fun of with Hiccup and Fishlegs decided to stay quiet.

**Apologies if it may seem out of character. I kind of based this off Katniss and Peeta's relationship in The Hunger Games.**

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"This is a _really_ bad idea." Hiccup said as he and Fishlegs followed the group in the back.

"What, are you scared?" Snotlout teased. "Is Hiccup being a big baby? Wanna go home and cry to your daddy the chief?" Snotlout mocked. The Twins joined in laughing at Hiccup while Fishlegs and Astrid stayed quiet. They both didn't like the idea of always picking on him and sometimes pitied him, but even then it wasn't enough to stop it.

As the group continued to walk, Snotlout in the lead, they heard footsteps coming from the right. They all reacted by crouching to the floor and hushing themselves. Hearts racing fast, but no one wanted to say anything. They were too scared of getting caught and/or being the "next Hiccup" as Snotlout would put it.

Just then, they heard a twig snap. "W-who was that?" Fishlegs said in a hushed whispered but only received dirty looks and "Shhhh's!" from the gang.

"Who's there?!" A voice boomed. No one knew who it was, where it came from, but a huge black figure appeared. You could easily make the outline from the moon's light shining behind the large figure. It was fight or flight and everyone took flight. They all bolted back the way they came from.

Hiccup, who was behind everyone was in the lead, with Snotlout catching up right behind him as he was one of the faster kids. Astrid, was behind Snotlout and the Twins along with Fishlegs. Snotlout shoved Hiccup out of his way, making Hiccup stumble off balance and trip over a tree root that was sticking up from the ground. Hiccup tried to regain his balance but stumbled and fell into the nearby brush. Still terrified for his life, Hiccup tried to pull himself up but he was stuck. His foot was caught on something. Astrid who had witnessed Snotlout's encounter with Hiccup and Hiccup fall stopped right in her tracks in front of Hiccup.

She heard yelling from the kids behind her and she looked to the way they came from. She looked at Hiccup with a scared but determined look on her face. She contemplated helping Hiccup, or should she just help herself? It wasn't the first time she denied him any assistance, letting him get bullied and mocked but maybe today would be different. She didn't hate the boy, but she didn't like him that much either.

Confusion between her choices showed on her face. Hiccup who was still trying to pull himself free looked up at Astrid scared out of his mind and pleaded to her, "Astrid please, help! I'm stuck I can't .. I don't want to die." He said and she could've sworn she saw tears coming out of his eyes.

Feeling absolutely sorry for the boy she knelt down. "Hold still!" She hissed at him. She heard the rest of the kids running, almost to where they were. Astrid couldn't see a thing but noticed where Hiccup's boot was stuck. She reached her hand in the brush and tried to push the vegetation aside from Hiccup's foot but it didn't work. "Here .. " She said as she stood up. She reached for his hand and with all her might she pulled Hiccup as hard as she could, injuring Hiccup even more in the process.

Hiccup was freed from the bush but Astrid fell back and landed on her ankle, immobilizing her. The rest of the kids caught up by now and instead of helping just ran right past them. Even Fishlegs didn't stop to help. "HEY!" Yelled the dark silhouette who started to near the kids.

Astrid and Hiccup looked where the voice was coming and panic overwhelmed them. Hiccup picked Astrid up but being as he was so strong, and she was bigger than him, made it hard for him to help her. It was enough that the ground was uneven and his own leg was aching too from the scratches he received from the thorny bushes. They only made it a couple of steps before they fell over. "Hiccup just go!" Astrid yelled at him.

Hiccup looked back at where the voice was yelling at them and listened to the footsteps. He looked at Astrid with boldness in his eyes and simply stated a determined, "No." And he yanked her back up. The two didn't make it too far. "Astrid, I can't do this." Hiccup said, out of breath.

This was the first time Astrid was completely scared out of her mind. She wasn't going to let Hiccup get killed after she stopped to help him not get killed. But she couldn't move. "GO!" She yelled at him and pushed him away, letting him just barely, regain his balance.

He shook his head and went back to his friend and tried to help move her again. "I'm staying." He said determined. She was the only one who stopped to help him and he wasn't going to give up the easily. If she'd do the same for him, then he'd do the same for her. It was always like his father had told him, a chief protects his own. If he was going to inherit status, the might as well already start showing it. Neither of the two could stand without the others' support but both were too weak to help hold the other up. They tried to crawl their way but it just wasn't enough.

"HEY!" Yelled the voice and the shadowy figure appeared behind them. The two kids, terrified out of their minds and ready to just accept what they thought was their fate, looked at the shadowy figure.

The man looked to be very large with a full grown beard. He wore a viking helmet and carried a large axe in one hand as if he was about to strike. "Hiccup?! Astrid?!" The voice yelled, and the two kids were absolutely stunned. They knew the voice, but the pounding of their hearts from the adrenaline rush just made it hard for them to focus.

"What did I tell you about the forest?!" The voice yelled at them. Now that the two kids finally took the time to listen to the voice, they knew they were in trouble.

Stoick the Vast picked up Astrid and Hiccup and carried them out of the forest. When they arrived back in the town, you could see just how pale their faces were. They were still scared out of their minds but they didn't know what was worst. Getting in trouble by the chief, or the terrifying experience of almost dying. Stoick called Gobber to take Astrid home and he did.

Stoick took his own son home and laid him in his bed. Hiccup looked at his father. He was absolutely disappointed and mad, Hiccup could see it straight on. Hiccup winced and prepared to get yelled at but Stoick just sighed. "Get some rest. We will talk in the morning." Was all he said as he left Hiccup's room.

Hiccup was absolutely lost and confused. He let out a shaky breath as he tried to lay down and relax. The adrenaline was still pumping and his wounds were bandaged up but he didn't feel the pain yet. Hiccup looked up at the ceiling and move his gaze to his window. The moon was shining bright along with the stars. Through Hiccup's sight, he only counted about 7 stars and 1 large moon. That got Hiccup thinking.

It was interesting, to him, that even at the darkest hours, the moon and the stars are shining brightly. It made him think of Astrid and what she did for him that night. Hiccup's life wasn't the best. In fact, he didn't really like his life all that much, it was always so .. dark to him. But then one night, someone turned it all around. Astrid, stopped to help him when no one else did, even if it meant endangering herself for someone like .. well like Hiccup. He kept thinking about it and running it through his mind, trying to find a reason why. Why did she stop to save him? She never did before, no one has. This was a first.

That night, Hiccup decided his life was like the night sky from window. Everything good about his life, or what he thought was good about his life were represented by the amount of stars while everything else was darkness. But when Astrid helped him, that memory, that image, that picture; that was the moon shining bigger and brighter than the rest of the stars.

Hiccup smiled to himself and closed his eyes. Maybe not everyone is so bad after all, he thought to himself.


End file.
